The public notices “excess” and it disapproves. Joe and Jane Voter would love to have a $16 glass of freshly squeezed orange juice when they travel, but the Econolodge doesn’t offer that; ditto for a limo ride, but they settle for a tour bus when they go somewhere new. They don’t expect ministers, on business, to use the subway or to stay at a budget motel, but they do, as Mr Solberg says, want RESPECT for their hard earned dollars and the prime minister’s household staff and Ms Philpott’s limo rides, like Ms Oda’s OJ, show a lack of respect.

Small failures in the pursuit of big things

“Small things,” he writes, “can add up to a big thing. And perhaps the worst possibility is that the small things comes to seem indicative of something inherent to the government: arrogance or carelessness or mismanagement..

This is a government committed to spending and doing big things. So it might not want to reinforce the idea that it can’t be trusted to spend and act responsibly.

And presumably some number of mistakes will be made in the process of doing the big things.

“We know that you do not expect us to be perfect,” Trudeau wrote last fall, neatly preparing the country for inevitable disappointment, “but you expect us to work tirelessly, and to be honest, open, and sincere in our efforts to serve the public interest.”

But the impossibility of perfection does not quite excuse all missteps. And stalking this government are its own ambitious promises and its commitment to doing things differently.

Promises might not be kept, actions might go awry, the new House leader might have to use time allocation. What then?

Big things go in the history books, but small failures can grind away.“

It is unlikely to be foreign or defence policy, not legalizing pot (or not), and not eliminating First Past The Post voting that will make Canadians want to “throw the rascals out” ~ which is what we, Canadians, do, in elections, far more often that voting for someone or something ~ it is failing to show proper respect.